A Long Climb To Success

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Dobbs Ferry Mayor Vincent Rossillo, trustee Shari Rosen Ascher and Rivertowns Chamber president Tim Akapo look on as brothers Chris (left) and J,B. Gomez execute Climbing Wolf's "Grand Opening" ribbon

October 11, 2025

By Barrett Seaman–

As Grand Opening ribbon cuttings go, this one was slow on the uptake—about five years from the time brothers Chris and J.B. Gomez opened Climbing Wolf Coffee & Beer at 78 Main Street in Dobbs Ferry until the Saturday in mid-October when the Rivertowns Chamber of Commerce folks showed up with their red ribbon and oversized scissors to make it official.

The real launch was in December 2020, months into the COVID-19 pandemic that would all but shut down rivertown businesses—especially restaurants and bars, where “social distancing” seating severely limited capacity–and with it vital cash flow.

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“We were 100% sure we were going to fail in the first six months,” recalls Chris, as he took one handle of the scissors alongside J.B. and prepared to cut the ribbon.

“You’ve become a real epicenter in Dobbs Ferry,” said village trustee Shari Rosen Ascher. Mayor Vincent Rossillo marveled at “how quickly you’ve become a pillar of the community.”

Indeed, the odd juxtaposition of a classic coffee shop doing most of its share of the business by day while a wide range of beer, ale and cider drew a robust pub crowd as dusk settled on the village.

So which beverage has been the salvation of Climbing Wolf? “I’d say it’s about even,” says J.B.. Coffee products sell all day but at smaller margins than the beer. The most profitable part of the business is the “beer-to-go” sale of a wide variety of beverages from a refrigerated case back in the corner.

“Congratulations,” said Tim Akapo, president of Rivertowns Chamber of Commerce, “and all the best for the next five years.”

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